Marcellus hires new police chief

The members of the Marcellus village board said they needed to hire a new police chief to rebuild the residents' trust in the police department.

And Bob Wicks, a patrol commander with the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department, said he wanted an opportunity to run his own police department.

So the board named Wicks to replace former Chief David Wilkinson, who resigned in November after pleading guilty to filing false time sheets at the Marcellus and North Syracuse police departments from 2000 to 2006.

"We're very much looking forward to moving past the Wilkinson situation and moving forward into the future,'' Mayor Mike Plochocki said. "We know there's a sentiment in the public, as well as on the board, that in light of all that has happened the last two years we want the new chief doing a top-to-bottom review of the entire department and all of its procedures to make sure that everything we do is absolutely by the book.''

Wicks, 52, has worked for the Sheriff's Department since 1981. He will remain with the Sheriff's Department in a full-time position and work up to 20 hours a week in Marcellus.

He will oversee a staff of 10 officers, including Keith Gates, who had served as acting officer-in-charge and then acting police chief since Wilkinson was suspended with pay in December 2006.

"Whatever happened in the past is in the past, and we're starting fresh,'' Wicks said. "The officers here are very talented, and the community is going to like what they get with the police department.

"I'm excited about this opportunity,'' he added. "It's a great place to work.''

Plochocki said Wicks was chosen from a field of five candidates, including Gates.

"Regarding Keith Gates, he was a very outstanding candidate and it was a particularly tough decision,'' Plochocki said.

Wicks is a Baldwinsville native who now lives in Clay. His wife, Roseanne Wicks, works for the state as a security officer at the Onondaga County Courthouse in Syracuse.

Wicks said he's receiving an hourly salary while he continues to negotiate with the board. Wilkinson was hired as a full-time chief in July 2006 at a salary of $48,000 per year.

The village paid Wilkinson about $90,000 while he was suspended. After he resigned, Wilkinson promised he would repay the village the entire amount.

In December, Wilkinson and village officials signed a contract in which he agreed to pay the village $100 a month for six months. After six months, the number will be renegotiated upward based on Wilkinson's employment status, Plochocki said.

If Wilkinson dies before the debt is paid, the agreement calls for Wilkinson's estate to pay what's left, Plochocki said.